In addition to its annual Hall of Fame induction, the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) presented several other annual Industry Awards during a banquet this month in Stevens Point.
The WPVGA Associate Division Business Person of the Year Award was presented to Matt Selenske of Allied Coop’s Pest Pros Division. As division manager for Pest Pros, Matt and his team consult with over 30 growers on 40,000 acres of potatoes, carrots, corn, soybeans, cabbage, and most other crops that are grown in Wisconsin’s Central Sands. Matt has always done his best to treat his customers like their farm is his, making the best management decision with the information he has available. He was awarded the Certified Crop Advisor of the Year Award, in 2024, and has served on the WPVGA Associate Division Board of Directors since 2021, currently as president.
Wendy Dykstra was named the WPVGA Volunteer of the Year. Wendy is chief operating officer at Alsum Farms & Produce, Inc., in Friesland, a five-decade strong grower and shipper of potatoes, re-packer of onions, and a wholesale distributor of a full line of produce. Over 14 years, she has worked in many aspects of the business, from strategy and farm operations to accounting and logistics. Wendy has been a catalyst of growth in her family’s farm, packing facility and logistics company. Alsum Farms raises 3,000 acres of Wisconsin Healthy Grown® certified potatoes, along with pumpkins, in Arena and Adams.
Wendy serves as treasurer on the WPVGA Board of Directors and is a member of the Promotions Committee. She also serves on the Board of Potatoes USA and is an Executive Committee member serving on the Finance & Policy Committee. Wendy serves on the Board for the Potato Leadership, Education, and Advancement Foundation (Potato LEAF) and has served on the National Potato Council Finance & Trade Affairs Committee since 2020. She is a Class of 2019 Produce Business Forty Under 40 Award recipient and received the 2015 WPVGA President’s Award and the 2022 WPVGA Young Grower of the Year Award.
This year’s WPVGA Young Grower of the Year Award went to Charlie Mattek, a sixth-generation potato grower at J.W. Mattek & Sons, Inc. seed potato farm in Deerbrook. Charlie, who studied agribusiness at Fox Valley Technical College and welding at Northcentral Technical College, has served for six years on the WPVGA Board of Directors, including as president in 2024. He also served on the Wisconsin Seed Potato Improvement Association Board, including one year as president.
As the out-going WPVGA board president, Mattek presented the President’s Award to his wife, Kelly Mattek, in grateful appreciation for her support, guidance and love.
The WPVGA Researcher of the Year Award was presented to Jed Colquhoun, a professor and extension specialist at the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison and integrated pest management (IPM) program director. Jed’s work is focused on integrated weed management strategies in commercial fruit and vegetable production that are practical while minimizing inputs and protecting the surrounding environment. His research in reduced-risk herbicides, alternative weed management strategies and off-target pesticide movement is disseminated to growers via innovative outreach programs. Jed has been awarded 158 grants, published over 60 peer-reviewed articles and books, and delivered over 650 outreach presentations. He has held a longstanding advisory role for the Healthy Grown potato program and served alongside potato growers and crop consultants on the Department of Natural Resources Technical Advisory Committee for Groundwater Quality.
Jeb Barzen received the Agri-Communicator Award for excellence in communication and outstanding service to the potato and vegetable industry. Jeb says he is a duck biologist who worked at the International Crane Foundation (IFC) for most of his career and spent much of that time working with agricultural communities, or other types of private landowners, worldwide, to advance stewardship that might better us all. Whether he is studying waterfowl while working at the IFC or working with potato growers, he has come to realize that growers, landowners and ecologists all want to be good stewards of the land.
Jeb has worked with the Healthy Grown program nearly since its inception, and this project embodies the process of becoming a better steward for all of us. “Meeting the Healthy Grown standard to manage your own farm, in its entirety, is challenging,” Jeb says. “Healthy Grown growers allow me to light their prairies, savannas and wetlands on fire—prescribed fire that prevents damaging wildfire, stores carbon in the soil, increases groundwater recharge, cleans water, benefits pollinators and that recovers species that otherwise would decline.” Jeb says it has been an honor to work with Healthy Grown growers and the WPVGA staff over these four decades and he looks forward to seeing what they may accomplish next.
A special Industry Appreciate Award went to Paul Sytsma, farm manager of the Hancock Agricultural Research Station (HARS), whose responsibilities include crop and research management at HARS, which is comprised of 412 acres in the Central Sands. The focus on the research station is on irrigated potato and processing vegetable research, and Paul works closely with many UW-Madison professors and private industry professionals to make sure their research and production objectives are met. He supervises staff carrying out the day-to-day operations on the farm and makes sure field conditions are as uniform as possible for conducting research. On any given year, HARS has 140 or more research projects with different management requirements at the station. Paul, who also served on the Agronomy Committee of the Food + Farm Exploration Center, says he’s grateful for the influence of his family and all the people he’s worked with at HARS and elsewhere over the years.
